Oppression Of Women In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck creates a stereotypical woman in Curley’s wife, whose characteristics reveal the depths of social alienation, the vulnerable dependence that is established from it, and the resulting coping mechanisms.
Social misperceptions and disadvantages construct barriers among individuals and lead to isolation. In this case, women are the ones socially misconceived. By referring to the only major woman in the story as simply “Curley’s wife”, Steinbeck indirectly portrays the image of women as completely dependent on male figures, their only purpose being to please others. When this purpose is not fulfilled, women become useless nuisances. Curley’s wife demonstrates this well; she fails to fulfill the expectations for …show more content…
An actual name grants respect, attention, and acceptance, and Curley’s wife lacking a name shows that she, and therefore all women, are inferior and separate from everyone else. Even George, who can tolerate Lennie, and is representative of a fairly understanding individual, displays this prejudice to not just Curley’s wife but to all women by blaming the jailing of a childhood friend on the “account of a tart” (56). This extremely negative regard of women, or potentially any other group of discriminated people who do not perfectly conform to unjust expectations, divides them from the rest of the world and is the root of their desolation. This is taken further when Curley’s wife, while talking to the men “put her hands behind her back” (31). Her hands symbolize the ability to reach for dreams and achieve contentment. While talking to the men, who are representative of prejudice, Curley’s wife’s hands are behind her back, demonstrating how prejudice forces people to subconsciously let go of their will and submit to society’s barriers. Through Curley’s wife’s action of leaning “against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward” (31) …show more content…
While there is little doubt that seclusion causes mental stress, the extents and consequences of this strain are often not emphasized. Steinbeck, by describing Curley’s wife with “full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up” (31), implies that a cosmetic appearance actually uncovers extreme insecurities underneath the surface. The desire to smother perceived inner flaws with temporary outward beauty unearths the constant self-doubt that prevails in the mind of a shunned person. Curley’s wife consistently exhibits this self-doubt and need to fit in with her overly conscious physical appearance and by nervously “rubbing the nails of one hand with the thumb and forefinger of the other” (77) while she converses with the men; thankfully, in death she is able to finally escape the barriers, isolation, and anguish that trapped her, relayed when her previously phony looks become “very pretty and simple” (93). Ironically, Curley’s wife is much more alive and free in death than she is in life, emphasizing how restrictive social barriers are. Similarly, in the world people must endure their isolation and insecurities any way they can until the outlook of society changes, or until death. This long period of being shunned and insecure takes a toll on the stability of individuals, making them crave any source of attention or acceptance. The